“Auntie Ophie,” Jamie, the second youngest, coos as his siblings and cousins pull back, and I get to hug my toddler nephew.
“Hi, Jamie Birdie,” I kiss his plump baby cheek. “I missed you too. You’re so big now!”
He giggles and hugs me tight.
It feels so good to see him, but he’s really grown so much! Every time I see the kids, they’ve all grown leaps and bounds in both size and personality. They all politely greet Nicolas, some confidently and others shyly, before they run back to me.
“Guys, come on!” It’s Courtney’s turn to call the children. “Inside!”
With the kids crowding me, except for Kenny, who’s excitedly telling Nicolas all about his new toy car, I make my way to the entrance, greeting my sisters-in-law.
“Hi!” I hug Parveen. “Merry Christmas!”
“It’s so nice to see you,” Parveen croons. “You were sorely missed last night!”
“Seriously, the kids asked for you every half-hour,” Courtney rolls her eyes.
She gives me a tight hug while Parveen herds the kids inside.
My parents’ house hasn’t changed much through the years, and certainly not at all since our last visit, except for the Christmas decorations occupying every available square inch, the table set up for our Christmas lunch, and the tons of toys scattered everywhere. It’s like a toy store exploded in my parents’ living room; there isn’t a single square inch of the house that isn’t covered by toys or wrapping paper! My nieces and nephews rush back to the area around the Christmas tree, jumping on the old couch or plopping down on the carpet, immediately arguing over which game I’ll play first.
The sight is nearly the same as in one of the pictures hung in the corridor, where my siblings and I play with our toys on a random Christmas about twenty years ago! All of my nieces and nephews are within the same age range too, making them de facto friends. There was a first wave with Kenny, Sakina, and Maisie, who are eight to six years old, and then Lilah and Jamie, who are four and three, and now we also have baby Ash, who will turn one next March. And boy, do I love being an auntie!
But I have to say, the house is crowded! With three couples, two singles, and six children, my parents’ house must have been absolutely packed to the seams last night… which reminds me that another reason we chose to go to Quebec City last night was that there was no way my parents would have had the room to host Nicolas and me, so this year, we were the ones to skip Christmas Eve.
I’m just wondering if Jordan slept on the old mattress again when he appears, wrapping me in a big hug.
“Freaking finally,” he sighs in my ear.
“How are you?” I hug my baby brother back.
“So much better now,” he says. “Mom spent a good chunk of last evening complaining about how you’d abandonedher, and how there was too much food left because you weren’t here. Rosie and I are pretty sure she made more on purpose, honestly.”
I chuckle, but I’m a bit sorry for my brother. As soon as one of us is missing, Mom makes it sound like the end of the world! In truth, I’m sure my siblings would easily rally to cover for my absence on whichever chores she mentions. She just missed me and made it known, I guess.
“Ophiiiie,” Simon appears behind him with a pout. “The kids are kicking my butt at Mario Kart; it was about time you showed up!”
“Oh my God, you guys brought the Switch?” I squeal, excited at the idea of our yearly tournament.
“You bet we did,” my brother winks at me, “and they just got the new one, so we’ve spent most of this morning playing.”
“Ophelia?” our mom shouts from the kitchen. “Is she here?”
“Yes, Mom, we told you she’s here!” my oldest brother, Beckett, shouts back, rolling his eyes before he hugs me. “And with the boyfriend! Hi, man. So nice to see you again.”
Nicolas greets my siblings one by one. He’s not big on physical contact from strangers, but unfortunately for him, all of the Valentines are. Thankfully, he already knows everyone here, so he’s not nearly as tense as he once was, and he even gets along great with Simon. The two of them spent hours talking about fancy watches last time, and I’m pretty sure they’ve been texting weekly since!
Finally, my mom emerges from the kitchen, and my siblings part like the Red Sea to let her through.
“Ophie, my baby!” she croons, rushing to me.
“Hi, Mom,” I grin.
My mom smells like she’s been cooking for the past three days, and it’s heavenly! I smell her honey shampoo, my favorite eggnog floating around the house, and that spiced orange candle Courtney always brings around for the holidays… It smells like Christmas!
“I’m so glad you made it!” My mom sighs. “All this airport nonsense! You should have come straight here, really!”
“It couldn’t be helped, Mom,” I shrug, “plus, we know you wouldn’t have known where to put us here. And we did make it to Quebec City!”
